Cobbers Ride Local Talent Into Sweet 16 Showdown with Johns Hopkins

A roster loaded with local talent helps Concordia advance to the final 16 teams in Division III.

MOORHEAD (KVRR) – The Concordia Cobbers are still dancing.

After a three point win Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball National Tournament, Concordia is headed to the Sweet 16 and sits among the final 16 teams left in the country.

The Cobbers earned their spot with a strong opening weekend at Memorial Auditorium in Moorhead. Concordia first took down Wisconsin Superior 73-61 on Friday before surviving a thriller against Ripon on Saturday, holding on for a 68-65 win to keep their season alive.

Now the focus shifts to the next challenge.

“I think our kids are super excited to continue to play,” head coach Kim Wagers said. “So all week we’ve just talked about recovery and focus and just getting after it. Come in ready to go. With the travel day and really late games [last weekend], we were really focused on trying to recover on Sunday and Monday. Then Tuesday we got after it a little bit more. We’ll have a nice practice day [Thursday].”

Standing between the Cobbers and a trip to the Elite Eight is a major test. Concordia will face a Johns Hopkins team that enters the matchup with a 27-1 record.

“[They] really like to get up and down in transition,” Wagers said. “So similar to Ripon, we’re going to have to be dialed in in our transition defensive schemes. And then they just look really athletic. Lots of ball screens on offense, so we’ve talked about our ball screen defense and some of that stuff this week. It will just take everyone. Obviously every team in the Sweet 16 is going to be outstanding, so we’ve just got to be ready to play.”

Part of what has made Concordia’s run special is how local the roster is. The Cobbers feature players from across the Fargo Moorhead region and surrounding communities, including Peyton Breidenbach and Maya Metcalf of West Fargo Sheyenne, Genevieve Gruba of Enderlin, Nora Roney of Shanley, Taylor Safranski and Maci Wheeldon of Fargo Davies, Molly Musland of LaMoure, Cabryn Fritel of Devils Lake, Kennison Azure of Northwood, and Ellie Welch of Pelican Rapids.

For Wagers, building a roster with local talent has always been a priority.

“We are super excited anytime we can load our roster with really good local kids that are going to obviously do awesome things outside of the gym, but also be able to dominate on the basketball court too,” Wagers said.

Now those local players have helped push Concordia onto the national stage, with the Cobbers just two wins away from the Final Four.

Friday’s DIII NCAA Women’s basketball Sweet 16 vs. Johns Hopkins tips off at 3:30 P.M. CT in Scranton, Pennsylvania.